Age Eight
by Hermes's Least Favorite Child
Summary: After one of Leo's experiments explode (like usual) he, Percy, and Jason all turn little. But what most terrifies them is that if they do not turn back to normal in a week, they will stay eight. And what's even worse is that being eight is affecting them. When Annabeth finds a cure, they run and try to stay age eight! This just became girls versus boys. R&R! -Sherry Pincher
1. Chapter 1

Frank cracked open a heavy eyelid and stretched. Man, the gryphons that showed up last night really sapped him of a lot of energy. He lumbered over to the window and opened it.

Big mistake.

A huge billow of smoke flooded into his room and Frank coughed. This was more than the normal amount of smoke that would appear when Leo messed up on an invention. It was slightly worrisome.

It was the scream the freaked Frank out. He raced downstairs in his PJs. He met Hazel on the stairs, but they didn't stop to say high. They raced as fast as they could to the engine room.

Annabeth was already there. "It's stuck!" she yelled as she saw them coming down.

"What happened?" Piper yelled as she came crashing down the stairs. "I heard a scream!"

"Jason and Percy went down here to the engine room to help Leo with something and then the place exploded!" Annabeth yelled as she rammed her shoulder as hard as she could into the door.

Frank turned into a 200-kilo gorilla and knocked the door open, crushing it as though it was made from cardboard. Huge clouds of black smoke puffed from the room as though someone had made a bonfire in there.

"Percy!" Annabeth screamed.

"I'm-_hack_-okay!" Percy yelled back somewhere in the black smokiness. Was it just Frank or did the guy's voice sound unnaturally high? "Where are you guys?"

"Open a window in there!" Piper yelled into the room. "We can't see anything in the smoke!"

"I got it!" Leo squeaked. There was a sound of grunting. "Now where is it? Uh, higher than I remember it. Let's see…"

There was the squeak of the hinges being opened ever so slowly. The smoke began to clear out even faster. Now everything in the room was a strong gray. Three shadowy shapes were barely able to be seen.

All of their eyes grew huge as they took in the sight. The sizes of those three boys were much too small.

The last of the smoke went out and they were left with three little kids, each of them wearing the clothes much too big. One kid had a round face with curly black hair all over, face smeared with machine grease. His suspenders went all the way to the floor and his pants were pooled around the floor. The white shirt he wore was big enough to be a dress.

Another kid had long, shaggy, grimy, tangled black hair and clear sea green eyes. His orange shirt was also much too big. His sweats had slipped right off of his skinny little shoulders.

The other kid had a tiny scar over his lip and blonde hair. His purple SPQR shirt went up to his knees and he was holding his huge boxers up with one hand while wiping the smoke and grime from his eyes with the other.

Piper, Annabeth, Frank, Nico (who just got there), and Hazel all stared at them. Then Hazel squealed and said, "Oh my gods, you guys were so _cute_!"

Percy took one look at Jason and burst out laughing, falling to the floor and rolling around laughing. "Poseidon's beard, Grace! You look like you're seven years old!"

Jason couldn't hold back a huge grin of his own. "You don't look much too older, Jackson."

Percy stopped laughing and said, "What now?"

He jumped up from the floor and looked at the mirror Leo kept in the room. He had to jump to see his reflection, but when he did, his face drained of all color. "Oh schist."

Annabeth rushed in and wrapped Percy in a hug. "Oh my gods, Seaweed Brain, you were the most _adorable _little kid ever! Look at your little hands and face and _eeeeek!_"

Nobody noticed Leo staring at his own hands until Jason glanced over. Jason noticed the tight fear Leo was trying to suppress and the intensity of it blew him back. He escaped from the adoring Piper and put a hand on Leo's shoulder.

"You okay, man?" he asked. "You're not looking too good."

Leo wouldn't stop looking at his hands. "No. No, no, no, not good. NO!"

His sudden outburst made Jason stumble back in surprise. Leo's hands weren't tapping with nervous energy, they were shaking. The mechanic thrust his hands down and tried to hop up and get a glimpse of himself in the mirror.

He failed.

Frank sighed. Seeing them so short was really funny, but he had to help the little dudes out. He picked up the big mirror and set it down on the floor.

Leo stared at himself. He touched his nose, his lips, his hair. Was it just Jason's imagination or was Leo's eyes becoming shiny with tears? But that didn't make sense, Leo never cried. But why did the guy seem so scared, so disgusted by his very own face?

The little version of their repair boy rummaged around the tool belt, still shivering as though it was freezing in the engine room which it wasn't. It was rather hot.

He took out the biggest wrench he could get from the pockets. Leo staggered underneath the weight of it but one more look at himself gave Leo the extra surge of energy and bitter hatred at himself to chuck the wrench.

It met the mirror with a very loud cracking sound and the mirror shattered into a hundred pieces. Leo panted loudly as he put a hand over his hammering heart, staring at the broken shards with a wrenched expression of pain.

"What's wrong, man?" Percy asked as he tried to put a hand on Leo's shoulder.

The little boy shrugged it off and snarled, "Don't touch me, fish breath."

Percy hastily pulled his hand back, alarmed by the ferocity and darkness in the guy's eye. Leo gasped at the words he said, putting a hand over his mouth. What was wrong with him? But he knew. He'd always known, he'd always been running away from it.

"I-I'm sorry," Leo panted. "I have to go."

He walked as fast as he could on his toddler legs out of the engine room. He collapsed in his cabin and stared at the floor. Leo put his head in his hands and tried to stamp out the sadness stabbing his heart.

_It's not you, _Leo kept on saying to himself in his mind. _It's just your body playing tricks on you. Control it!_

He had trouble breathing slowly. His face…the same face when Leo caught sight of himself in the mirror of where his mother had had her funeral. The same. A hidden sadness, a terrified smile.

Just like when he was eight.

Leo imagined that the fear and anger were all weeds and he tried to stamp them. Stamp them all so they could not grow. If they grew, he'd snap at everyone like ha had at Percy until there would be no one left for him.

He had to get it in control.

But his mind kept on saying things like, _I miss mommy. I hate it here. Be mean to everyone. Don't let them have the happiness you'll never be able to have_.

Leo wasn't scared of the fact that he had turned eight years old. He was more scared about the fact that his very mind was changing.


	2. MInd Affected

Percy took the extra extra-small t-shirt from Annabeth. She said she had taken one of her t-shirts and shrunk it in the dryer. It was weird. At moments when he made physical contact with anyone, Percy's young heart would thrash and practically vibrate.

It was when Jason and he went into his room to change Percy realized why.

"Oh, dude, you have nasty bruises all over your back!" Jason gasped as he stumbled backwards. "What happened?"

Percy looked over but he could only crane his neck enough to see a purple blur. Then a memory hit him like a sack of flour.

As in, he fell to the ground, shaking as he relived one of his days in the past.

"No, stop it!" his mom had cried.

"It's time to show some discipline to this little upstart," his past stepdad had growled.

He raised the metal rod threateningly. Percy was crying his eyes out, fearing the metallic gleam in the light. He had only wanted his mom to be healthy and not smell all of Gabe's tobacco smoke, so he had hidden them.

When Gabe found them all under his bed, he threw a wig. He grabbed one of his prized hair wigs he used to hide his ugly baldness and chucked it at eight-year old Percy Jackson and then grabbed the metal rod.

It struck Percy across the face.

A blinding red pain went through his skull as Gabe lashed one more at the top of his head. Percy wasn't vaguely aware of what was going on. There was a wetness his numb face could feel. Tears.

Had he screamed? Because all of a sudden, his mother was there, protecting him. Gabe dealt with her and his eyes watched his most favorite person in the world crumple to the floor, bleeding.

Gabe raised it again and struck Percy's back.

He was lucky he passed out with that first one.

"Jackson, you're crying," Jason said as he gently waved a hand in front of Percy's face. "You…you okay and everything? You passed out and began to, like, shake and stuff."

"Yeah, I'm all good," Percy said with a pant. "Glad that I showed my stepdad Medusa's head more than ever now."

Jason gently put a hand on Percy's back. The son of Poseidon flinched and then relaxed. It was his friend, not Gabe. He had to remember that.

"I heard some of it from Annabeth," Jason said slowly. "If you ever want to talk about it, man, you have to know that we'll be here for you."

Percy wiped a sleeve across his face and tried to smile. "Don't worry, Grace, that was like 9 years ago. I-I'm over it." He winced at the sound of his own stutter. "At least, I will be as soon as I get to my own age."

Jason gasped and then wrapped up his sleeve and winced. "Yup. Only three stripes, that means I'm seven. I joined Camp Jupiter when I was four."

"I'm pretty sure I'm eight," Percy said. "That's when…these appeared."

"But don't you get it, Jackson?" Jason asked, frantically tracing the tattoo on his arm over and over. "This means that we haven't shrunk, our bodies have actually gone back in time. If we didn't, I'd still have twelve stripes!"

"Oh." Percy thought for a second. "Oh."

"Yeah, 'oh,'" Jason said sarcastically. "Yup, I can tell you were totally the smartest kid in the grade."

"So what do we do about it?" Percy asked, tugging the shirt over his head.

Somebody knocked on the door. "Are you guys decent enough to come in?"

They walked in without an answer.

"Oh my gosh, Jason, I've never seen a baby picture of you so I never knew you were so cute!" Piper squealed and picked up the small kid, giving him a big hug and kissing his cheek.

Jason scrunched his face up like he had smelled something foul. "Gross, lady, haven't you ever heard of cooties? YUCK!"

Piper stopped. "What?" She began to laugh hysterically. "Oh my gods, Jason, did you seriously just complain about cooties? Your seven-year old mind is affecting you!"

Jason glanced at Percy. "Yeah, we can tell."

He showed them his tattoo and explained his theory about de-aging one more time, furiously wiping the place where Piper had kissed him as though she had sprayed him with germs. He looked very uncomfortable.

"So what you're saying is that this has to be magic, not some strange chemical reaction made by Leo's machine," Annabeth said, tapping her chin.

"Er, no, that wasn't what I was trying to imply, but that works too," Jason said generously. "If your idea is right and mine is also, than I want to think that some magic thing worked with that smoke machine to disguise it."

"If I had to think, this has something to do with Hebe," Annabeth murmured to Frank. "She's the Greek goddess of youth."

"Frank, help me, the cooties are eating me from inside out, I can feel it in my gut!" Jason wailed, wiping his face over and over again. "What do we do about it!?"

Piper was beginning to get a bit nervous. "Jason, I just…don't worry, you're not going to die. It's all okay, right?" she leaned down to give him a comforting hug but Jason inched away from her. Piper was hurt.

"Don't worry, his mind is just working like that," Annabeth reassured her. But she too was feeling a bit nervous as she turned to Percy. "Seaweed Bain, you know who I am, right?"

""Yeah!" Percy's bright eye's suddenly became a bit cloudy and misty. "You're Annabeth Chase."

"And you're girlfriend," Annabeth said. Then she shuddered. Man, saying that to a boy age eight made her feel so uncomfortable. "You know that, right?"

Percy and Jason locked eyes for a second and they both burst out laughing, rolling on the floor. "HAHAHA! Lady, do you have any idea how old I am? Annabeth, you're just a friend! Girlfriend, yeah right, as if I'll risk my life with a bunch of cootie-infested girls. Give me a five, Grace!"

The guys high-fived. Jason glanced at Piper. "No offense, Pipes, but you have seriously got t stop showing that much affection, people are going to find it weird."

Annabeth stared. Piper could hardly keep her tears back. Frank was looking at the escapade with his mouth wide open. Hazel suddenly gasped.

"Wait a second!" she cried. "If they're forgetting things like that…what about Leo!?"


	3. Leo's Past

"We've got to split up to find him as soon as possible," Piper said. "I'll take Jason-"

But Jason Grace was very against that idea. "Yuck! No thank you! I don't want any of your kissy-faces anymore! Girls are gross! I'll go with Frank."

Frank glanced at Piper who was turning red. "Fine. I'll j-just go alone. I'll-_hic_-check the girls' b-bathroom."

She was holding back the tears not to well as she dashed away. Frank felt like a jerk but Jason went right next to him.

"I can go alone!" Percy exclaimed as Annabeth grabbed his hand. "Let go of me!"

"Percy, you're not going to go off on your own when you're a little kid!" Annabeth said exasperatedly, trying to drum some reason into his Seaweed Brain.

"I am not a little kid, I am eight-years old!" he shouted. He looked around frantically. "Fine, if Jason's going with someone, then I'll go with Nico!"

Nico blinked. "What?"

Percy bounded up to him and took a hold of his hand. "You're the only guy here besides Frank! I can't go with a _girl_."

He wrinkled his nose as though the very concept gave him a migraine. Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Were you a seaweed brain at this age too? I feel bad for Sally."

Nico felt the heat pound in his ears. "I-I can't go with-"

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease, Nico?" Percy begged loudly. "You _have _to!"

He hesitated but then Percy did that thing with his sea green eyes that made him look like a baby seal in distress and Nico couldn't have himself say no to that face.

"Okay," Nico muttered.

Besides, the guy was eight, what was the worst thing he'd do?

Hazel crossed her arms. "Annabeth and I'll go alone. First person to find him alarms the others and meets in the dining hall, decided?"

"Good," everybody else yelled, ad split up.

She rubbed her hands together and went to the first place that crossed her mind, his cabin. She went down the staircase and then down the hall.

The son of Pluto hesitated and then opened the door. He was pressed against a wall, head in his knees. Hazel knelt by him and patted his head gently. "Leo…are you okay?"

Leo raised his head and Hazel took in a breath. He had been crying.

"What's wrong?" Hazel asked softly.

He opened his mouth as though to say something but it looked as though he couldn't get the words out. His lower lip trembled and ripping sounds of pain came from his chest. Hazel felt her heart break just looking at this little boy sobbing.

"I-It, I…" Leo hiccupped again and then buried his face into Hazel's shoulder, unable to speak any more. "I-I-I…"

Hazel felt tears build up in her eyes. The pain was so real. She did whatever her mother did when she cried in the past.

"Why don't you take a nap?" she whispered into his ear. Hazel moved him so his little head was in her lap. "Do you want me to sing you a song?"

Leo trembled but Hazel thought she detected a little nod. She opened her mouth before wondering what to sing.

Then she remembered a song Leo had taught her. O Mio Babbino Carro.

"_O mio babbino caro,_

_Mi piace, è bello bello,_

_vo'andare in Porta Rossa_

_a comperar l'anello!_

_Si, si, ci voglio andare!_

_E se l'amassi indarno,_

_andrei sul Ponte Vecchio_

_Ma per buttarmi in Arno!_

_Mi struggo e mi tormento,_

_O Dio! Vorrei morir!_

_Babbo, pietà, pietà!_

_Babbo, pietà, pietà_!"

Leo shivered and then began to slowly calm down. Hazel felt his slow heartbeats and his rhythmic breathing. Then Leo's pulse sped up and Hazel could tell from his grimaces that he was having a nightmare.

Time to find out why this little Leo was so conflicted.

Hazel put a hand on the little guy's head and dived into his memories.

She was merely a ghost in his memories, as always. But this was her first time out of her own head, so it was interesting. Until she noticed what was going on. She was surrounded by police and firemen. She looked.

In front of her was a machine shop in blazes, flames erupting here and there, sparks and embers flying, clouds of ash and smoke going up into the air.

"MOMMY!" somebody screamed from behind her.

Hazel whirled around and saw Leo, eight-years old, trying to squirm out of the grip of a police man. He was hitting the officer, screaming and crying, staring straight into the heart of the fire.

She raised a hand to her mouth to hold back the shriek of horror and sadness. "No…"

"It's your fault," the officer said coldly. Leo turned around, terrified. He might not have seen it but Hazel did. The man's eyes were golden. He was not saying those words, Gaea was, but Leo did not know that. "It is all your fault, your mom's death."

Leo stared for a second before he fell to the ground, knees too weak to support his little weight. He stared at the ground and she could practically hear the trauma making his heart pound.

"All my fault," he whispered. "My mom's death…mommy….dead…my f-fault."

"Leo!" Hazel yelled, wishing she could end this torture.

Then an ugly woman Hazel could recognize as Aunt Rosa from Leo's negative descriptions appeared in a nightgown. She had tear tracks down her cheeks.

"Devil child!" she shrieked. "My sister's death is all your fault! Your mother is cursing you in heaven right now; you will never go where she is, NEVER!

"God will punish you!"

Hazel had to remind herself this was a memory or she would have slapped that woman.

Then Aunt Rosa raised her hand. Hazel understood what was going on a second too late. "Stop it!"

The hit Rosa gave Leo across the face felt just as painful to Hazel as it did to Leo back then. Leo staggered back. The officer holding him showed no emotion like he didn't mind the abuse that was happening right in front of him.

"MOMMY!" Leo screamed one more time before the memory faded into darkness.

This time, Leo looked slightly older but not by much. He seemed skinnier. Perhaps a few months had passed? She wasn't sure.

He was packing a ragged backpack with saltines, a lighter, a small flashlight, two dollar bills, a tiny blanket, and cans of sardines. From the way he handled those sardines with disgust, it was obvious they were the only things he had.

Then Hazel watched him put the backpack on and open the door.

Outside, it was pitch dark, only the nightlight gave even the tiniest bit of vision. But Leo knew this place well, for he moved without any need to feel around. He went down a staircase Hazel did not know was there and then down to a hall.

Light from a kitchen lighted the way but she could also hear the conversation coming from the room.

"Honestly, that dratted boy's history is so wretched, no one will want him!" an ugly, pug-faced woman snarled. "What he did to his mother. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Poor woman."

"It was hardly her fault God gave her a child that was the worst sinner we've had for years," another woman said with a sigh. "Perhaps almighty thought she could cure him. Alas, she died."

"I wish he would just realize no one want him," the first woman remarked.

hazel could see the tears in Leo's eyes as he opened the front door and ran as far as he could. The wind closed the door with a loud _SLAM!_

The two woman jumped.

"What was that?" one cried.

They raced out and one opened the door. "It's the devil child! He's making a run for it! Quick, call the police!"

The other was already on the phone, calling the line. "Hello? Local orphanage. The child is running away again!"

The memory faded. Hazel could hear the sirens and Leo's screams of pain even as blackness surrounded her.

Hazel opened her eyes. She was back in the Argo II. Leo was on her lap, clutching her shoe and crying in his sleep.

"Oh, Leo," she murmured and brushed the hot hair from his face. "We never knew…"


	4. Percy's Past

Hazel lifted Leo onto the bed and sighed. Who knew one could be so sad at such a young and helpless age? She felt like she wanted to give a cursed ruby to every single person in those visions that made Leo so…so traumatized.

How could she help him?

Hazel bit her lip and suddenly remembered. Leo's most loved person. His mom. Maybe, just maybe, using her powers over the Mist…

Hazel remembered what his mom looked like when she and Leo had the memory experience together with Sammy. She hurried into her own cabin and picked out some jeans, a plaid button up shirt, and then went into the engine room to change and get some grease.

She put the clothes on and slathered some grease on her hair, face and clothes. There. Months of sword fighting and combat had made her hands already calloused. All she needed was a hairband.

The daughter of Pluto hurried to the bathroom, not wanting to run into anybody and took a quick look at herself. Hazel heard Piper still crying in the bathroom but she could only comfort one person at a time!

Satisfied with her appearance, Hazel hurried into Leo's room. With her cinnamon-colored hair instead of brown, she was taking a long-shot, but hey, the machine grease did a good job darkening it.

Anyhow, the Mist would make Leo see what he wanted to see.

"Leo, wake up," she said softly, shaking the tiny boy.

With a huge yawn, he sat up and looked around, dazed. His eyes came to a rest at Hazel and then his jaw dropped. His eyes began to shine.

"M-Mommy?"

Hazel tried to remember from her brief experience with his mom. "_Mijo_. You've grown while I was away."

Leo stood as still as possible before launching himself into Hazel's arms. She staggered slightly but held her place. Leo was clutching her as though he would never let her go.

"I-I'm so sorry, it was my entire fault!" he wailed. "If I didn't…you'd still be…"

"Shhhhhh," she whispered, and wiped Leo's crying face. "None of it was your fault. The only bad thing you've done was being born more beautiful than I could have hoped."

"Uhhhhh," Leo sobbed, furiously wiping the tears away. "You have no idea how much I missed you…I'm so…I should never have…but why were you…"

Hazel smiled sadly. She poked Leo teasingly in the stomach and the little Leo giggled behind the hiccups.

"I'll always be in your hands, _mijo_," she whispered, and took little Leo's hands in hers. "Everything you make or touch…I will be there. After all, you are my son."

He nodded. "I'm sleepy."

"Take a nap." Hazel eased Valdez onto the bed and laid him down.

"Will you be there when I wake up?" he murmured as his eyelids began to flutter.

Hazel bit her lip. She couldn't be Esperanza Valdez forever! "Probably not," she admitted. "But…I'll always be watching."

"I'm so sad when you're not there," Leo mumbled, squeezing his eyes shot. Two teardrops rolled down his cheeks. Hazel wiped them away.

"Don't be sad," Hazel whispered. She decided to say something Older Leo had once said himself. "Humor is a good way to mask the pain."

"Yes…" Little Leo sighed.

"It's like taking a needle and putting it in the middle of a large mountain of fluff," Hazel said rhythmically, trying to lull Leo to sleep. "Make it so you never feel that sadness ever again. Your friends will help."

"Friends…" Leo began to breathe slowly.

"Good night, _mijo_," Hazel whispered, and she undid her braid.

"Can we stop by the cafeteria to get some cookies!?" Percy hollered to Nico.

The son of Hades screwed his eyes shut, trying to drown out the yells. The problem with this kid was that not only was he annoying as Hades, but he was cuter than a bunny rabbit! That hair, those innocent, shining eyes that hadn't killed a single monster…

Man, Nico was so _conflicted._

"How about after," he said with a huff. "We're kind of in the middle of searching for a lost child right now, if you haven't noticed."

Percy waved a hand, "Aww, Valdez can handle himself no problem, don't worry too much about that kid. What we _do _have to worry about is my hungry tummy! I'm practically _starving, _Nico! I am in a HUGE need for food."

Nico walked ahead, trying not to listen. Percy shut up for about two seconds, pouting, and then began to whine about something else.

"I'M BORED!" he bellowed.

Nico groaned. "What do you want to do then!?"

"Do you know any card games?" Percy asked. "I really like card games."

Di Angelo turned. "Y-you do?"

"Sure I do!" Percy said happily.

He hesitated. "I-I know one game. You might not like it. I mean, I haven't played it in a while and it's a super dorky nerd game, but I, uh, know the basics and could, er, I mean-"

"Stop with the stu-stu-stutter and just tell me already!" Percy said excitedly, grabbing Nico's hand and jumping up and down.

Nico hastily snatched his hand away from Percy. He hated physical contact, especially _his_ physical contact. But he _had _to show Percy Mythomagic. It'd been his #1 goal in life ever since age 10 to show him.

Looking this way and that, he helped Percy climb the mast.

"Whoa, nice view!" Percy said appreciatively as he looked down at the sky. Then he went into a cloud and said, "GAH! I CAN'T SEE! AND IT'S COLD!"

The King of Ghosts chuckled without any humor. "Yeah, that happens sometimes. I keep my cards in here."

He knocked a special pattern into the wood and a tiny panel opened. There was a large stack of Mythomagic cards.

"Whoa, that's a really big collection!" Little Percy exclaimed as he looked at the foot tall stack.

Nico snorted. "This? It's my travel stack. My _real _collection is down at the Palace of Hades. I have 16,936 cards in mint condition and over 2,000 figurines."

"Cool!" Percy said, jumping up and down.

Suddenly, Nico felt as though someone had put a knife in his heart. This was so much like himself four years ago, before his sister had died. He was just as eager as this younger Percy was, if not more.

"Yeah," he said slowly. "Cool…"

"So, uh, are you going to teach me how to play or do I have to Google it up and have a ton of monsters come attack?" Percy gestured at the deck of cards.

Nico's eyes came back into focus. "Yeah…so first, you have to get two monster cards and…"

Nico yawned. Really, he couldn't have lost if he tried, the winning of Mythomagic gene must have been implanted in him at one point because his hands practically chose the moves themselves.

Percy furrowed his brow before making a growl in the back of his throat and throwing the cards down. "I quit. You're obviously cheating."

Nico raised an eyebrow, amused. "I'd love to know how."

The son of Poseidon pouted. "I don't know either, but you are! HOW ELSE CAN YOU WIN THIRTY TIMES IN A ROW, SEVEN OF THOSE TIMES BLINDFOLDED!?"

"It's my crime against humanity," Nico said with a snort. Then he frowned as he saw something on Percy's arm. "What's that bruise you got?"

Percy looked down. When he had thrown the cards down, one of his sleeves had gone up, showing an especially big bruise on his shoulder.

"It's nothing," Percy said hastily, pulling the sleeve back down.

Nico raised an eyebrow. "Nothing? Really? You were a worse liar nine years ago."

Percy stuck his tongue out. "If you must know, I got them when my step-father threw a book at me. Happy now? I thought you'd be laughing at my pain or something."

"When your…" Nico furrowed his brow. "You mean he tripped and pushed a bookshelf on you or something? Is that what happened? You make it sound as though he did it on purpose."

The sea green eyed boy turned around so he was facing the sky and not Nico. "He did."

"Did what?"

"He did throw it on purpose."

Nico blanched. So Percy was talking about _that _kind of book throwing. Man, and he thought _he _had a rough childhood.

"Let me see how big it is," Nico said. "I know a little healing spell that could help a small one."

Percy laughed bitterly, a sound little kids should not have made. "You think you can help me?" He took off his shirt, still facing the other way.

Nico just about fell of the branch.

Percy's back was like a one, huge, angry blob of purple and red. It was the biggest bruise Nico had ever seen in his life. It was…it was…whoever had done it was crueler beyond the meanest monster, the most terrible demon.

"Put your shirt back on," he begged.

The younger boy smirked. Than the smirk changed into the same innocent smile. But now, Nico could see the tiny bit of sadness in his eyes. "Not the prettiest thing, right? Can you not tell Annabeth? She's totally going to go all Mother on me and stuff."

The king of ghosts hesitated. This should really be something Chase knew. If she didn't… then again, she might already know. So if he just assumed that and didn't tell…

"Promise you won't tell?" Percy said as he stuck out a pinky.

Nico stared at it, then at Percy's helpless seal-cub-in-distress-and-needing-help face. "Oh…oh fine." He laced his finger around it and sighed.

"I can tell you now, right?" he asked, eyes shining. "I never…I was kind of scared and nervous to tell anybody the full story before. So can I tell you?"

Nico stared at Percy and nodded hesitantly.

Percy took in a deep breath and dived into his story.

"I…I was around four when Mom told me she was getting married again. I thought this was great, I'd have a dad and everything. She went on one date with me so I could see the guy. He was nice for about two second and then the champagne came out and he was a jerk.

"The next day, he slept over at my mom's house. Then every day after that. His job…we never found out how it was going. All the money he kept for himself. My mom had to work double hard to pay for our necessities. And then…And then I got older and he claimed I was becoming a smart mouth.

"That was when I was around seven…" Percy smiled sadly again, looking down at the clouds underneath them. "Ever since…well, you've seen my back."

Nico took in a deep breath and patted Percy's shoulder. The little guy winced at the touch and then nodded.

"It's a good thing you told," Nico said. "We can help you now."

Percy's eyes grew unfocused and he said in a voice much too old to be his, "I hope so, dude, I really hope so."


	5. Rebellion

"Mommy!" Leo screamed as he jolted awake.

He looked around. All he saw was hazel with her hair down in grease splattered clothes. Odd, since when did she spend time around machines? It didn't matter. His mom…

Leo sat back and sighed. She really did disappear after he slept. It was almost as if she hadn't really been there…No…she _had _been there. He knew that much at least. And her last piece of advice.

_Humor is a good way to mask the pain, _she had said while stroking his cheek.

Leo stomped out the tears building up in his eyes, burying the prickling in piles of fluff and wool until they couldn't be felt, hopefully for the rest of eternity. He had to smile for her sake, not just his.

But the tears kept on pricking him. Leo shook, but didn't let a single sob come out. He looked around frantically. He had to think of something else! But what was there? Maybe…

His stomach growled. Okay, he'd think about food. It would keep the sad out. And, also, he was very hungry.

Leo jumped out of bed and tugged Hazel's sleeve. "Hazel, I'm STARVING!"

She opened her eyes groggily and Leo instantly felt guilty for waking her up when she was so obviously tired. Then she smiled and he felt all warm and bubbly on the inside.

"Are you, now?" she murmured and knelt down to pat his head. Leo felt an unusual warmth in his stomach. "Let's go down and get you something to eat."

"Can I have pie?" Leo asked, rubbing his tummy and jumping up and down at the same time. "I really want some pie!"

Hazel laughed as she held Little Leo's and helped him down the stairs.

Leo rushed ahead and opened the door. Everybody was there, and they all exclaimed with relief when he came in. Frank met Hazel's eyes and furrowed his brow.

"Why do you have machine grease all over you?" he asked softly and flicked off a drop of grease off of her cheek lovingly.

Hazel smiled and leaned up on her tiptoes to kiss Frank on the cheek. "The little Latino elf had to be comforted. I thought oil would have been the best way."

"You seem in a good mood," Frank said as he touched his cheek where her lips had touched as though it was holy ground now.

Hazel sighed. "I never had a younger person around me. Ever. When I was alive, I was considered bad luck, so no children went around me. Leo's giving me something I've never experienced before."

Leo was sitting in a seat, beaming at a slice of pie with enough whipped cream piled on top of it to make it look like a snowdrift.

"Well, he's not going to be able to give you any more experiences if he eats all that whipped cream," Frank said exasperatedly. "He's going to clog up an artery, for Mar's Sake! I have to go over and lessen the amount."

"Well, someone's learned a few things from their grandmother," Hazel teased as she poked her gut.

Percy was there as well. Annabeth was trying to feed him some string beans and he had managed to grab a Magic Cup and summoned enough water to blast Annabeth clear off her seat.

Piper was there as well, glancing at Jason every now and then. She looked very shy. Jason kept on looking at her and then at the tabletop. But instead of looking shy, he just looked very uncomfortable.

"Piper, don't worry, he's not really sane right now," Annabeth said, coming over. She was dripping wet. "Come on, he's actually seven right now."

Piper quivered again as though about to burst into tears and then she stopped. Quite literally. She paled, she stopped shaking. Her eyes grew huge, the size of hubcaps. Frank had to suppress the fear that they would explode.

"What do we do to get them back to normal?" she gasped. "What if they stay like this forever?"

"I've been researching," Annabeth said. "This isn't a curse or anything. From Leo's exploded machine, it's a legit chemical reaction to their cellular buildup. I have the schematics, but I need some ingredients."

"So can we turn them back to normal?" Piper asked desperately. "Oh, Annabeth, you have to do it as fast as possible! I-I can't have Jason ripped from me again!"

Her voice broke at the last couple of words. Annabeth put a comforting hand on her shoulder and sighed. "I know. Gods, you have no idea of how I feel right now…"

Hazel gripped Frank's hand tighter. She had nothing to feel guilty about, but when seeing the heartbroken faces of her friends, she couldn't help feel as though she didn't deserve Frank.

The boy in question wrapped his arms around Hazel. "Don't you go anywhere," he murmured.

"I have to go and make that serum," Annabeth said. "Leo, do you think you can help me? We found something that might turn you guys back to normal."

Leo looked up. As did Jason and Percy. "Back to normal? Why do you think we want that?"

Jason squinted his eyes. "Yeah. Some of us don't want to be boyfriends with you kissy faces."

Piper would have cried but this was getting out of hand. Really, kissy faces? How second grade could a person get?

Percy piped up, "I don't wanna go back!"

"You're going to, Seaweed Brain!" Annabeth said, rolling her eyes. "Come on, Leo."

"Make me," Leo said stoutly. He sat down on the floor and crossed his arms over his scrawny chest.

"Yeah, make him!" Percy and Jason echoed. "Make him!"

"With pleasure," Annabeth growled, and cracked her knuckles in a threatening gesture.

The boys paled. Then Percy grabbed the golden cup again. Annabeth turned a strange fuchsia.

"Don't you d-"

A blast of water carried her, cursing, through the air. She landed with a thud on her behind, soaked all the way to the bone.

"RUN!" Percy wailed.

They began running. Jason turned to Frank. "Come on, Frank!"

"Huh?" Frank asked, bewildered. "Why do I have to go?"

"NOT A QUESTION!" Jason yelled. A huge gale made the plates fly off the table and lifted Frank clear off the floor. He bobbed airily to the door.

"GAH!" he yelled. "HELP ME! I'M GETTING KIDNAPPED BY A BUNCH OF KIDS!"

"You too, Nico, I am going to pummel you in our next game of Mythomagic, AS A CHILD!" Percy screamed. He took up his cup and closed one eyes as though he was firing a ballistae

A jet of water tumbled out and bended in air so Nico was on a cushion of buoyant water.

"GET ME OFF!" Nico yelled.

Skeletons would have burst forth but they were on a boat in the air. Hardly a convenient place when all you can do is summoning undead warriors. He flew past everybody, yelling curses in a babble of English, Italian, and Ancient Greek.

"PIE!" Leo screamed, ecstatic. He grabbed his slice of pie and ran as fast as he could on his meaty little legs.

All males filed out of the room. The girls were left staring. Annabeth was the first to recover.

"YOU ARE SO DEAD, PERCY!" she screamed up to the ceiling. A small rainbow had formed from all the rainbow launching and wind.

Annabeth grabbed a golden drachma from a pouch on her belt and chucked it into the rainbow.

"Time to bring out the big guns," she growled. "Camp Half-Blood, Reyna!"

A vision showed. Reyna was in the middle of talking in a "conference," which meant she was yelling at Octavian and Octavian was yelling back. She paused and looked up. A smile broke out and smoothed the angry wrinkles on her face.

"Annabeth!" she called. "How are things on the war ship?"

Octavian made a gagging motion behind Reyna's back. "Greeks. Ugh."

"We need you to get here pronto!" Annabeth said, eyes glowing with fury. Piper inched away from the daughter of Athena. She had never seen her so upset.

"Reyna, they can't expect you to go back!" Octavian said, aghast. "And if you do, that'll mean you are leaving the Romans at my command. You know what will happen then."

"Fine, then you can come too, Octavian!" Annabeth shrieked.

Even though it was only an Iris message, the augur for the Romans took a hasty step back. An angry daughter of a war goddess never meant good. He knew that much from spending all that time with Reyna, at least.

"What is so urgent that you petty Greeks ask for the great help of the Romans?" Octavian asked with a sneer, trying to push his way to be at the front of the Iris message.

"Back away, Octavian," Reyna said coldly. "She is hardly trying to declare war. Let's be civil here."

Octavian took a step back, looking murderous. "I'm not happy. Not happy one bit."

"And I didn't ask," Reyna shot back, the wrinkles coming back. She turned back to the Iris message and took in a deep breath. "I do wonder why you ask me to come, Annabeth."

The blonde girl snarled out the story with so much anger, Octavian took another step back. As was said before, anger plus daughter of war was never good.

"I see," Reyna said, amused. "It does seem you will have to come with me, Octavian, I can hardly leave you in charge after what happened last time. Dakota can take lead for a week or so. Rachel will help lead, of course."

The Rachel bit was perhaps a tad too much. Octavian's usually pale face grew such a scarlet, he would have made a sunset jealous. He made another gagging noise and stomped off, white augur robes swishing behind him.

"I'll be there as soon as possible," Reyna said. "However, it may take a couple of days."

"No, that won't be necessary," Hazel said. She closed her eyes. "There's another labyrinth in a cave a few miles to your east. If you go straight and take a few lefts, you'll reach Athens. We'll stop by there and pick you up."

"How long do you suppose that'll take?" Annabeth asked Hazel. "I've been in the Labyrinth. It can be a bit…unpredictable at times. It's not something easily controllable, Hazel."

The daughter of Pluto smiled. "I've learned a few tricks, Annabeth. Controlling the Labyrinth is one of them. I…I know a few things. We can pick them up in an hour or so."

"We'll meet you there," Reyna said, and logged out.


	6. Arrival

Reyna staggered on deck, dragging a tied-up Octavian on deck and supporting an unconscious Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the Greek Oracle of Camp Half-Blood. She looked ragged and shot Hazel a death glare. "That _passage _made us run into an angry horde of those donkey-legged demons, thank you very much!"

Hazel winced. "I thought I felt an anomaly there. Sorry 'bout that. Why's Octavian and Rachel…?"

"He got a bit grabby with a sword and swung it randomly, almost cost me my arm," she said, disgruntled. "He knocked _himself _unconscious, how I don't know, and I had to tire him up and lug him all the way.

"Rachel came with us last minute, saying she had to deliver something to you guys, what it is, I don't know." she yawned. "She and Octavian fought all the way there and he threw a tantrum, murdered three stuffed sheep, and pouted before I threatened him and forced him to come."

"That sounds just like him," Hazel giggled. Then she put her serious face on. "Okay, here's the deal. We need you to get those boys under control or at the very least distract them so Annabeth can make the serum to turn them back to normal."

"Can I hurt them?" Reyna asked, taking out her golden dagger.

She didn't _look _like she was kidding. Piper shook her head fiercely, wincing.

"Ah well," she said. "Can do. I'll bring them alive and well, unless I'm forced to…use my other more unorthodox methods."

They didn't ask what that meant.

"We'll watch over Rachel," Annabeth said, and took firm hold of the moaning redhead mortal.

Reyna grunted as she pushed her hair out of her face and dragged Octavian with her to the mast where the boys had taken headquarters.

"And watch out for the eggs." Hazel smirked and then closed the door.

Reyna scrunched her brow, puzzled. "Eggs?"

* * *

She walked to the mast and looked up. In a matter of minutes, Leo had been able to construct a treehouse using wooden slats and nails from his tool belt for the guys.

"Frank Zhang!" she yelled. "I've come to help you!"

"Is that Reyna?" said a voice from above, sounding excited. "REYNA, YOU HAVE TO HELP MEAND NICO, THEY ARE _TROTURING _US!"

"I'm all good," Nico's voice said. "I'm not ticklish like Frank."

"I'm no-_HAHAHAHAHA!_" Frank snarled, "Keep your hands to yourself, mister!"

Jason poked his head out of the tiny window and looked down. "Blech, a girl! PREPARE THE EGGS!"

"Eggs!" Leo and Percy hollered.

"I'm confused, what are these eggs you're talking ab-"

A blizzard of pale white spheres rained down on Reyna's head. Yolk splattered and slimy white trickled down the back of her neck. Her hair stiffened like it was some insane kind of hair gel or something.

"KYA!" she screamed, high-pitched. Then she growled like a bear. Frank should know. He had been a bear personally. "That's it, if you twerps aren't coming down, I'm going _up_!" She took out two daggers and stabbed the mast like it had insulted her Pegasus and began climbing like a mountain climber would climb using pick-axes.

"Launch crayons!" Percy yelled.

A hundred crayons hailed down. Reyna sputtered as one caught her in the eye and she toppled down, landing on top of the unconscious Octavian. She took out a battle-ax from the case on her back and aimed to chop the mast down with one strike.

"NO!" Leo screamed hysterically. "PIE!"

Percy and Jason both used magical plates and summoned as much pie as they could, grabbing the food and throwing it down the mast. Soon, the daughter of Bellona was buried in high-calorie blueberry pie. She blinked and took out a golden crossbow, aiming it at the window.

"Cards!" Percy yelled.

That stumped Reyna. "Cards? What do you-?"

Mythomagic cards were flung down. One scratched Reyna's hand, making her drop the crossbow. It shattered to seventeen pieces on the floor.

"Okay, now that was too far!" she yelled hysterically. "That was my best Christmas present from Camp Jupiter's Secret Santa two years ago! You guys are going _down_!"

She took out a golden grenade.

"REYNA, YOU ARE GOING TO KILL THEIR HOSTAGES!" Frank yelled.

"Mother of all ghosts, how many weapons does that woman keep on her person?" Nico murmured as he looked down with a raised eyebrow.

"Wait a second," she said, realizing something. "You guys are eight-years old? And your minds are too?"

"AND PROUD OF IT!" all three of them screamed from the top.

"Wait…" Reyna smirked. "Then…this might just…"

She raced down below deck. She could hear the boys cheering loudly as she raced away. How she would love to show them what was _really _worth laughing at. But her master plan was so diabolical, Reyna wished to rub her hands together and laugh maniacally.

"Is Rachel up?" she asked, visiting the sickbay.

Piper took one look at the colorful, dusty, cut up, egg-y praetor and giggled. "They got you really good, didn't they?"

Rachel looked up from a warm cup of hot chocolate and waved. "Hey, Reyna! What's up?"

"Long story," Reyna said. "First, Rachel, we're friends, right?" Rachel nodded. "And friends do each other favors, even if the favor might be something gross and something they _really, really, really _didn't want to do?" Rachel didn't like where this conversation was heading. "Yeah, well, I need you to…" she whispered the rest into Rachel's ear.

The redhead turned as red as her hair as she let out a little squeak. She turned to Piper, dizzy. "Pipes, I think I need another Advil."

"You'll do it?" Reyna asked, ecstatic.

Rachel moaned, now green. "You _so _owe me."

* * *

Rachel stared at Octavian on the ground. "Can you at least clean him up a little? He's all…gross and egg-y."

"I can't do much about the gross part, but getting rid of the egg?" Reyna hefted up some steel wool and a bucket of water. "Leave it to me."

Soon, Octavian had the layer of egg all off, including two layers of skin. His scarecrow head was bobbing as Reyna forced him up. She cut off his rope. Then she slapped him hard, once.

"MONSTERS!" he screamed as he woke up. He stumbled, white robes trailing. He shook his limp blonde hair out of his beady eyes. "What's going on?"

"The things I do for my friends," Rachel whispered, and took a step forward.

Octavian squinted and then opened his mouth to obviously say something mean and rude when Reyna tilted her head and screamed, "WATCH THIS, YOU TOADS!"

"Hey!" Nico and Frank complained from within. Three heads poked out.

Octavian looked around, turning this way and that, trying to find out what was going on in the name of Apollo. Then Rachel moaned again, leaned forward, cupped Octavian's face in her hands, then kissed him smack in the mouth.

"GAH! MY EYES!" Jason sobbed as he stumbled back into treehouse.

"NOOOOOOOO!" Percy screeched.

Leo started to shake like he was having a seizure.

Octavian looked like he had been electrified. His eyes were huge, the size of hubcaps, as the message _Rachel Elizabeth Dare, one of the _graecus _scum, is kissing me_ processed into his brain. Then he blinked once before cupping Rachel's face in his hands and kissing her back.

Rachel broke away, green eyes cloudy. Then she snapped back into reality, turned a scarlet that put her hair to shame, whipped her blue plastic hairbrush from her back pocket, and smacked Octavian as hard as she could across the face.

"IF YOU DO THAT AGAIN, I AM GOING TO KNOCK YOU INTO _TOMORROW_!" she screamed.

"B-But weren't you the one who-" Octavian blinked and then screamed, "YOU FILTHY GREEK! HOW _DARE_ YOU-"

"YOU SNOBBY AUGUR! DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE? _DISGUSTING_!"

"YOU'LL RUE THIS DAY! THIS WILL BE THE START OF THE NEW _TROJAN WAR, _MARK MY WORDS!"

"COMPLETELY GROSS AND ANNOYING!"

"VULGAR AND LOOSE!"  
They were nose to nose, shouting insults at each other. Then, out of nowhere on a mutual agreement, they kissed each other again, Octavian tangling his fingers in Rachel's wild red curls, Rachel throwing her arms around his neck to pull him in closer.

Reyna blinked. This was working much better than she had hoped. She stabbed the side of the mast with her two daggers and began to climb up again. The boys were too busy rolling on the ground howling with pain, to notice her until she perched on the windowsill.

She fiddled with a grenade and smirked when the noise got their attention. "Hello, boys."


	7. Plot Twist!

"You cheated!" Leo hollered. He screeched so loudly, Reyna could have sworn she saw his midget tonsils. "Okay, all five of you brats—"

"Hey!" Nico and Frank both exclaimed stoutly.

"—Have ten seconds to get to Annabeth before I use _my _methods to do it," she continued threateningly and sent a message by beginning to carve her initials into the wooden walls of the treehouse.

Percy growled and peeked outside, then made a retching sound. "Can you please tell them to _stop_!?"

Reyna peered out the square window. Octavian and Rachel were still kissing. Didn't they have to come up for air? She chipped a bit of wood off of the walls and then chucked it at Octavian's head.

It bounced off of his blonde hair. They didn't even flinch!

"Okay, the author wants to _keep _this story K-rated if you don't mind," she called down.

**(Thank you, Reyna, I thought I would have to write a gryphon attack into this story to get them to stop.)**

Octavian looked up, eyes fuzzy before he turned back and yelled up, "The metafictional dimensions of that sentence is really blowing my mind, Rey-Rey."

"Rey-Rey?"  
"Aw, my little augur and his cute little nicknames," Rachel giggled, eyes bright with happiness.

"Well, Oracle, can you tell our future?" Octavian asked as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

She winked. "I don't need to."

Then they closed the distance between their lips again and even _Reyna _began to become a bit nauseated at the sight. Jason rolled around, clawing at his eyes. The daughter of Bellona actually felt a little sorry for the little guy. This must have been like watching a chick flick in life.

Reyna sighed and leaned back in. "Okay, I don't want to see any of that either. So none of us can go out."

Frank and Nico rolled their eyes. Nico spoke first. "How bad can it be? Just set us free and we'll get out and get Hazel or someone else to help."

Reyna smirked and untied them and then let them look out the window.

"MY EYES!" Frank roared. He turned into a Blind Australian Boa Constrictor so he could erase sight.

"NOOOOOOO!" Nico screamed as he scratched at his eyes as though wanting them to pop out of his head. Then he passed out.

Reyna sighed and shook her head. "Two warriors reduced to nothing. What do you little twerps wanna do before Piper or Hazel comes up to check on how things are going?"

"Yuck, more girls!" Percy said with a stricken face.

Jason thought for a second. "How about we play a game?"

Reyna felt like laughing. Mighty son of Jupiter Jason Grace, saying, "Let's play a game!" How she wished demigods could use electronic items like video cameras. This would have gone viral in Camp Jupiter.

"Fine, what do you want to play?" Leo asked, nibbling on some pie. Seriously, where did the scrawny little dude put all that crust and filling? "How about…a pie-eating contest?"

Percy rolled his eyes. "We already did that and you won. How about we listen to some music?"

He held up a dusty cassette player. Inside was a new CD.

"Great, what music is in it?" Reyna asked. At least music wasn't painful.

Percy's smile widened. He hit play just as the other two screamed, "NOOO!" Then the most horrible music Reyna had ever heard filled the air.

_You're insecure,_

_Don't know what for,_

_You're turning heads when you walk through the door,_

_Don't need make-up,_

_To cover up,_

_Being the way that you are is enough,_

"What is this?" Reyna wailed, clamping her hands over her ears. She didn't think it could get any worse until Percy began dancing and singing to the music. It seemed appropriate that she could relate his singing to the sound of whales in the midst of being tortured.

Leo tried stuffing some of the raspberries in his ears to block the noise. It sounded very gross but Reyna was so close to asking for some too. "He went into Piper's room and got one of these CDs in the trash and he's been _addicted _ever since."

The terrible noise was enough to make Hazel crashing out with wax and cotton blocking her ears. "What is that—AAAAAH! MY EYES! WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING!?"

Reyna winced. Octavian and Rachel were apparently _still _making out.

"BREAK IT UP! THE AUTHOR WANTS TO KEEP THIS K-RATED!"

**(Thank you, Piper!)**

"Oh, little Octavy-poo," Rachel said with a little giggle.

"My cute and adorable fortune teller," he said right back in a sickly-sweet voice. "You're more important to me than a fresh copy of the Sibylline books in mint condition."

"Now _that _is a compliment," Reyna said with a low whistle. She had spent enough time with her dogs to tell lies from truth to a degree and Octavian's tone was 100% sincere.

Piper winced and gritted her teeth before climbing up the mast. She popped her head through the window. "Reyna, we, uh, have a problem."

"Jason, another girl, this one's yours!" Percy whispered urgently.

The son of Jupiter nodded before stepping up and yelling into Piper's face, "No, lady, I am _not_ doing anything PG with you and that includes kissy faces!"

Much to their surprise, Piper just rolled her eyes. "Relax, Sparky, I'm here to talk with Reyna solely." She cleared her throat. "Annabeth accidentally made something explode and the entire lower deck is being, uh, quarantined."

Reyna rubbed her temples. "What happened?"

"Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeell, the thing exploded and sent some love powder everywhere. Hazel's flirting with—"

Frank's face fell.

"—Relax, Frank, Hazel's flirting with a wall and Annabeth's making out with her _Architecture 101 _book so let's say things aren't going very well right now. You can see it worked on Rachel and Octavian."

"That explains them suddenly kissing and stuff," Reyna said with a wince. "Well, why aren't you googly eyes with a desk?"

She shrugged. "It may be because my heart's been shattered and it healed because I have no feelings for Jason in this state for the moment or it might be because I'm a child of Aphrodite. But for now, I'm going to get Hazel up here. I want you guys to stay while I fix everything."

Leo snorted. "How will _you _fix it?"

She crossed her arms. "Because you're going to tell me how to unless you want to stay here with a kissing Rachel and Octavian and two flirtatious girls."

Leo visibly paled.

Piper smiled. "Happy we came to an agreement. I'll get them."

* * *

**PLOT TWIST!**

** —****Maddie {:^)**


	8. DISCONTINUED

**A/N: Sorry, guys, discontinued.**

**Now you are liberated to write in the reviews what a big ol' meanie I am.**

**And then please check out my other stories.**

**Sowwee**


	9. Surprise!

**My name is no longer Maddie. After my pet mouse died, I kind of trashed my gloves and went over the whole "Daughter of the Mad Hatter Thing." As some of you may or may not know, I am now Sherry Pincher!**

**Anyways, I got so much hate for discontinuing this that I decided to wrap it up! One more chapter and mark it as complete!**

**You welcome.**

* * *

"Well, aren't you the cutest thing in existence?" Hazel said as she put one finger on the wall. "So sturdy and…strong."

"Come on, Hazel, it's time we get going," Piper said impatiently. "Frank's waiting for you. Remember him? He's your boyfriend."

"Was," Hazel said. "Now I love this…wall…"

"It's a freaking wall!" Piper said, exasperated. "And Annabeth, that book cover is not very sanitary, so I really think you should put it—"

"No!" The older girl screamed hysterically. "Don't you dare get between me and this precious book of mine! I love it! Its table of contents page is so perfect and exact and I just—"

"It's a book!" Piper yelled. "You know what? Bring the mother effing book, see if I care. You, Hazel, on the other hand, cannot bring that wall."

"NOOO!" The thirteen-year-old wailed, hugging the wall. "Save me, Wall, I know you love me back! They're taking me away! _They're taking me away! _And second of all, you cannot use terms like _mother effing, _this is K-rated._"_

Piper rubbed her temples. "It's. A. Wall. And no, the author changed it to T."

"Such drastic changes," Annabeth murmured and kissed the cover of the book again. "You won't change like that, you'll stay the way you are, the reason I love you so much."

"A hot wall!" Hazel screeched. "Now leave us be! We're leaving for our honey moon!"

"When did the two of you even get _married _in the first place?" Piper asked, looking completely confounded. "You know what? Never mind. Annabeth, get her legs."

Annabeth happily took Hazel's legs with one arm and skipped happily, reading the copyright very carefully. Piper grabbed her flailing arms and took in a deep breath. What was going on?  
First, it was only the three boys being all young. Then Reyna came and was listening to that _horrid _1D CD Lacy sent her in a daze of complete and utter insanity. And now _this_! The plot was straying so much from what the author made the summary about, she didn't know where it would go.

Maybe she should just discontinue it.

But then the haters and flamers and sad reviewers would come back and nothing good would come of that.

Piper sighed as she climbed the knives sticking out of the wall, Annabeth and Hazel in tow. She opened the flap and forced the girls inside and looked at the situation.

Barfing boys. A ticked, murderous Reyna. Octavian and Rachel still making out. Two boys caught in this trouble. And now, two girls completely maddened with profound, undying love for inanimate objects.

You just love being a demigod every single passing minute.

Suddenly, they all looked up at her, opened their mouths, and began screaming. "MEEP, MEEP, MEEP, MEEP, MEEP—"

* * *

Piper's hand slammed on the SNOOZE button of her alarm clock as she shot forward in her bed, hair a mess. She was breathing quite heavily.

Completely terrifying dream.

"Oh my gods, that was terrible," she said with a moan and got ready for breakfast. That gryphon attack must have sapped her of more than just energy it sapped her of sanity too.

At the dining room were Annabeth, Hazel, and Nico.

"Hey guys," she said happily as she sat down. "What's up? Where are the others?"

Hazel rolled her eyes. "Frank's totally zonked out. The others, I don't know."

"Probably doing something stupid as usual," Annabeth said with a chuckle.

Suddenly, an explosion rocked the ship. They all drew their weapons and ran to the deck without a word. It was in the engine room. Piper winced. Déjà vu much?

Frank ran on deck, pajamaed and ready to go. Annabeth wrestled with the door. "It's stuck!"  
_Oh no, no, no, no._

Frank turned into a 200-kilo gorilla and whammed the door in. Smoke billowed out like a chimney chute.

"Percy!" Annabeth screamed.

"I'm-_hack-_okay!" Percy's unnaturally high voice called out.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Piper screamed, falling on her knees and yelling up at the sky.

* * *

**A never ending cycle! Ya happy now? Please leave messages of what a good author I am on the comments below so I feel better about myself after all those harsh flames.**

**If it completely sucked and your eyeballs are now falling out of your skull, then please use the previous right.**


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